Boy Scouts’ outdoor dinner of rabbit questioned

Published: Wednesday, February 19, 2014 at 05:33 PM.

When Navarre Boy Scout leader James Gary posted a photo of one of his scouts holding a dead rabbit last weekend, he didn’t realize what he was starting.

The photo showed Gary and 10 scouts on a 36-hour wilderness survival training lesson. The rabbit was one of two Gary brought on the trip to kill and prepare for the boys to eat.

A Facebook friend, Terri Sims Saunders, posted Gary’s photo on her page with a comment about how sad it was to teach children to kill. She also called the Northwest Florida Daily News.

Gary responded to Saunders that he’d named the rabbits, let the boys pet them and then killed them by hitting the animals in the head with a stick.

When questioned, he said regretted his comment, which was intended to goad Saunders.

“I took that personal,” Gary said of the implication that he was hurting the scouts. “I believe I have the boys’ interest at heart.

“In no way, shape or form would I do anything to harm scouts.”

He said he did not name the rabbits, although the boys held the animals and probably petted them.

Gary said parents of the 10 scouts — who ranged from 11 to 15 years old — were notified in advance by email of his plans to teach them how to prepare wild game safely. He followed up with each to make sure they knew their sons might see an animal being killed.

“I gave (the boys) the option to turn their head when I dispatched the animals,” said Gary, who added that he wasn’t sure if any of them did.

He said only one mother expressed concern, but allowed her son to go on the trip

“She said, ‘Oh, furry little bunny. I don’t want to see the bunny. I would take it home,’ ” he said.

None of the families have complained.

Spence Page, director of the Boy Scouts of America Gulf Coast Council, said Gary was the registered scoutmaster of Boy Scout Troop 106 in Navarre. He said Gary told him that he’d obtained permission from each parent before the trip.

“If his version is correct, it is not against Boy Scout policy,” said Page, who followed up with parents in Gary’s troop to verify the events.

“There isn’t a written policy that says you can’t do what he did,” he added. “It just outlines that it has to be done humanely.

“The key point is that these parents made the decision.”

Saunders removed Gray from her list of Facebook friends after the exchange.

She said the experience taught the boys little about survival training.

“When you go camping, you’re not going to carry two rabbits with you,” she said. “That’s not teaching them how to hunt.

“That’s not teaching anything.”

Gary bought the animals from a breeder who raises rabbits for food.

The boys were working on a wilderness survival badge, which does not require eating fresh game in the wild, he said.

Gary said he thought it was important for the boys to learn about the safety concerns in preparing and cooking wild game.

He and Page said the tenants of wilderness survival, as taught by the scouts, focus first on finding shelter and second on locating a water source. The boys’ only other food for the trip was what they could fit into a closed sandwich-sized Ziploc bag.

“I took it a step further,” Gary said of the rabbits. “Why? I figured it would be neat. They knew the (meat) was going to sustain them.

“They were hungry,” he added. “Every single one of those scouts ate some of that rabbit.”

When Navarre Boy Scout leader James Gary posted a photo of one of his scouts holding a dead rabbit last weekend, he didn’t realize what he was starting.

The photo showed Gary and 10 scouts on a 36-hour wilderness survival training lesson. The rabbit was one of two Gary brought on the trip to kill and prepare for the boys to eat.

A Facebook friend, Terri Sims Saunders, posted Gary’s photo on her page with a comment about how sad it was to teach children to kill. She also called the Northwest Florida Daily News.

Gary responded to Saunders that he’d named the rabbits, let the boys pet them and then killed them by hitting the animals in the head with a stick.

When questioned, he said regretted his comment, which was intended to goad Saunders.

“I took that personal,” Gary said of the implication that he was hurting the scouts. “I believe I have the boys’ interest at heart.

“In no way, shape or form would I do anything to harm scouts.”

He said he did not name the rabbits, although the boys held the animals and probably petted them.

Gary said parents of the 10 scouts — who ranged from 11 to 15 years old — were notified in advance by email of his plans to teach them how to prepare wild game safely. He followed up with each to make sure they knew their sons might see an animal being killed.

“I gave (the boys) the option to turn their head when I dispatched the animals,” said Gary, who added that he wasn’t sure if any of them did.

He said only one mother expressed concern, but allowed her son to go on the trip

“She said, ‘Oh, furry little bunny. I don’t want to see the bunny. I would take it home,’ ” he said.

None of the families have complained.

Spence Page, director of the Boy Scouts of America Gulf Coast Council, said Gary was the registered scoutmaster of Boy Scout Troop 106 in Navarre. He said Gary told him that he’d obtained permission from each parent before the trip.

“If his version is correct, it is not against Boy Scout policy,” said Page, who followed up with parents in Gary’s troop to verify the events.

“There isn’t a written policy that says you can’t do what he did,” he added. “It just outlines that it has to be done humanely.

“The key point is that these parents made the decision.”

Saunders removed Gray from her list of Facebook friends after the exchange.

She said the experience taught the boys little about survival training.

“When you go camping, you’re not going to carry two rabbits with you,” she said. “That’s not teaching them how to hunt.

“That’s not teaching anything.”

Gary bought the animals from a breeder who raises rabbits for food.

The boys were working on a wilderness survival badge, which does not require eating fresh game in the wild, he said.

Gary said he thought it was important for the boys to learn about the safety concerns in preparing and cooking wild game.

He and Page said the tenants of wilderness survival, as taught by the scouts, focus first on finding shelter and second on locating a water source. The boys’ only other food for the trip was what they could fit into a closed sandwich-sized Ziploc bag.

“I took it a step further,” Gary said of the rabbits. “Why? I figured it would be neat. They knew the (meat) was going to sustain them.

“They were hungry,” he added. “Every single one of those scouts ate some of that rabbit.”